The day the bicycle lost its heart and soul

When some one sent me a picture of a Fuso bike, (Above.) I knew at first glance that I did not build it. This one was built by Russ Denny, my former apprentice who took over my business when I retired in 1993. The frame had a sloping top tube, and while this is normal today, back prior to 1993 it was not.

I never built any frame with anything but a level top tube, with the exception of a few drop top ladies model, and the occasional twin tube “Mixtie” frame, which is a whole different frame design. I m talking of the standard road frame.

It made me think, what a run this simple design had. From the early 1900s until the mid to late 1990s, almost made it a hundred years without any major changes. Apart from basic geometry, tube angles, etc., once the standards were established, they remained the same, a level top tube was one of them, and any deviation from that was not acceptable, to either the framebuilder or the customer.

What I find amazing is that everything else changed so dramatically over the same period, I think of automobiles, aircraft, and just about any other manufactured item. They have all been though many changes over the same period.

It all started with the invention of the chain drive. The first was the British model “Rover” Safety Bicycle.So-called because its fore-runner was the Ordinary or High-wheeler model, (Below right,)

Although this was the first “Enthusiasts” bike, one had to be young, athletic, and have nerves of steel to even mount such a machine.

The Rover design pretty much established that the chain would drive the rear wheel, while the front wheel would provide a means of steering. The chainwheel, cranks and pedals would be just ahead of the rear wheel, and below the rider’s saddle.

The rider’s position was copied from the ordinary, and lead to those early frames having laid back “Slack” frame angles that would prevail into the 1950s.

Early frames were a hodge-podge of tubes of various shapes and sizes. The bicycle soon became mass-produced, which lead to it becoming an affordable means of transport for the working classes. Prior to that the only personal form of transport was a horse,

Mass production also lead to standard-ization and simplification of design. The chain itself is still half an inch pitch today the whole world over, even though most countries use the metric system.

Wheel sizes became standardized, and the frame design became the simple straight tube, diamond design, that we are all so familiar with.

Most of these standardizations came within the first ten years into the early 1900s. Tube sizes, 1 ¼ Head tube, 1 1/8th. Down and seat tube, 1-inch top tube. Most countries in the world including Italy, use these same Imperial size tubes. Hand brazed, lugged steel frames were, for the most part, the norm throughout this period.

It soon became obvious that frames would have to be different sizes to accommodate different size people, and the level top tube being parallel to the wheel centers, made it a point of reference, for the framebuilder to easily design and build a frame of any size.

The front fork being the same height for any frame, the position of the bottom head lug, and the length of the head tube is easy to arrive at, and head and seat angles are measured from horizontal top tube.

The advantage for the customer was, once he had established a size of frame that suited him, he could buy another of any make in that size, and it would fit.

Plus, the handlebars would be the correct height in relation to the saddle. No one spoke of handlebar drop.

When I left England in the late 1970s, my customers were almost exclusively amateur racing cyclists, their bikes all had the same componentry. Campagnolo Group, Cinelli handlebars and stem. Christophe toe clips, Binda laminated toe-straps. Tubular tires, and usually Mavic rims. Frames were either by a local builder like me, and therefore varied from one area to another.

If the frame was not by a local builder, it was by one of the larger English builders. Holdsworth, Mercian, Jack Taylor. Italian frames were not big in England at the time.  They were expensive compared to the UK built frames.

When the US Bike Boom happened in the 1970s English framebuilders, even the larger ones could not supply the demand, and they lost out to the Italian companies that  were larger, as they had been supplying most of the continent of Europe for years.

By moving to America, I was able to compete for a small niche of the market, but when the second bike boom hit, namely the Mountain Bike craze. Only a few high-end established mountain bike specialists were able to take advantage of their particular niche. The rest was taken over by companies like Giant, who found by building frames with sloping top tubes, they were able to build less sizes.

Above illusrates the evolution from the "One size fits all" BMX Bike, to the limited size MTB and Road Bike.

When this look became the norm, it made its way to road bikes, and by then carbon fiber was taking over from steel. Lugged steel had a good run, and I am proud to have been around at the end of that era.

The only other products I can think of that are made by craftsmen and remain the same year after year, are musical instruments. Everything else, including bicycles are now the same as any other consumer product that can become obsolete at the whim of the manufacturer.  

The bicycle, and in particular the lugged steel racing bike, took about ten years to establish standard designs and practices that would last for another 90 years. Towards the end changes in componentry came at a fast pace, (Index shifting, clipless pedals, etc.) culminating in the demise of the frame itself, which is fitting because after all the frame is the heart and soul of the bicycle.

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War Without Tears

In the 1970s, just before I left England and moved to the United States, there was a TV reality show called “It’s a knockout.” Towns and cities throughout the UK would put together teams to compete against each other. The games would consist of people dressing up in silly costumes and racing each other over various obstacle courses.

It made for amusing, entertaining viewing with a competitive aspect. I believe the idea started in France, there was a European version called “Jeux sans Frontiers” which translates to “Borderless Games.” In which different countries competed. Singer/songwriter Peter Gabriel wrote a song around the theme, Games Without Frontiers, War Without Tears.”

It occurred to me that the term “War Without Tears” was a concept that could apply to all competitive sports, whether they are in the form of races with a clear individual winner, or team games played on a field or some other marked out area. People compete against each, within a set of agreed rules, and no one gets hurt. At least not intentionally.

Each sport has a governing body that agree on a set rules, and referees or some other officials make sure those rules are enforced during the game. If rules are broken, there are penalties. Just as in real life, the government sets the rules, or laws, and the police and legal system ensure that rules are enforced. If they are broken there are consequences and penalties.

Where the system breaks down, whether in a sport or real life, is when people cheat or break the rules, and the referees turn a blind eye, or show bias towards one side. The governing body then needs to step in and restore order and fairness. Level the playing field, so to speak.

When I got into cycling and cycle racing as a teenager in the early1950s, I joined a cycling club. The club itself had rules, older established members of the club taught me the rules and explained the reasons for them being in place. The rules were there to ensure fairness and everyone’s safety.

There was also something called “Ethics,” or unwritten laws. One did not draft on the back of a group for the entire race, then go to the front and win at the end. This even applied to a club run or training ride. What would be the point? You won the race, but you would be a very unpopular winner.

It was common knowledge at the time that European Professional Cyclists took Amphetamines. Amphetamines were invented in the late 1800s about the time the chain driven bicycle was invented, and with the popularity of Six-Day Races and other extreme endurance events, amphetamines were a natural fit for cycle racing and other professional sports.

However, one has to realize that professional sports are for the entertainment of the spectator, whereas the amateur version of the same sport is solely for the participant. We were only in the sport for our personal satisfaction.  Cheating in an amateur race back in the 1950s would have given zero satisfaction, and one would be ostracized if found out. I never heard of amateur cyclists doping during that era.

Today we live in a “Look at me” society, so there is a win at any cost mentality, even where there is no monetary gain. Ethics have completely gone out of the window not only in the sport of cycling, but in the “Game of life” itself. I am so glad I participated during the “Golden Age of Cycling.” It gave me such joy and satisfaction.

I am too old to ride in cycle races now, but I must of course continue to participate in the game of life. Sadly, it becomes less and less fun each day. I thought we agreed on a set of rules, but no one wants to play that way anymore.

Sometimes during English football (Soccer.) games, where poor decisions were made by a game official. The crowd would start singing, “The Referee is a Bastard.” (To the tune of "For he's a jolly good fellow.")

The events of this past week remind me that the referee on the streets is the police, and there is a definite bias against one side. In the real game of life it is no longer “War without Tears,” the war and the tears are all too real.

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Road Cycling is Dead, Long Live Road Cycling

In the words of Yogi Berra, “It is déjà vu all over again,” at least it is for me. In the early 1990s the cry was, “Road Cycling is dead, mountain bikes are the new thing.” There are all these safe trails, away from cars, just waiting to be explored. All you need this special bike to ride them.

Today I am hearing the exact same thing about gravel bikes. Before I go further, let me say this is an observation, and is in no way meant to be a put down, of mountain biking or gravel bikes. I have noticed in recent years, it has been proven that wider tires not only have less rolling resistance, they can be run with less pressure making for a less bumpy ride on rough surfaces.

So, did wider tires lead to the interest in riding a road bike on gravel and dirt roads, or was it just the bike industry looking for another bike boom that the mountain bike had brought? The mountain bike boom was special and may never happen again on the scale it did.

Mountain biking was developed by a small group of enthusiasts, starting out building bikes for downhill racing, based on old balloon-tired cruiser bikes. From this group came mountain bike builders working separately from builders of road bikes like me, and others of that time.

By the time the big companies like Giant got into building MTBs, they had become what I saw as an adult version of the BMX bike. It coincided with a whole generation of twenty- and thirty-year old’s who had grown up riding BMX bikes in the 1960s and 1970s.

Many were new to cycling and it brought them into the sport. The mountain bike became a world-wide phenomenon, and many of today’s professional road cyclists got their start in mountain bike racing.

A few hard-core roadies remained, and road cycling never completely went away. By the new millennium road biking was gaining popularity once more, with new people joining the sport, crossing over from mountain biking.

The bikes I built in the 1980s were road racing bikes and were never really suited for leisure riding, but it was what people wanted at the time. Many people saw these bikes in bike stores and fell in love the sparkling paint, and polished aluminum, they just had to have one. When they rode them however, it was hard work, their back hurt, their ass hurt, and the bikes were over geared for most newbies.

I see bikes I built in the 1980s come up for sale on eBay, some in pristine condition, they have never been used. The sale of all these bikes that were never used, initially helped keep me in business, and today ensure there is a plentiful supply for the current enthusiast, and on into the future.

In 1982 I met John Howard for the first time, I built him a custom ‘dave moulton’ frame, built with Reynolds 753 tubing. He said it was the best bike he had ever owned, and he often rode it on dirt roads in the semi-desert east of San Diego.

This was not what I would have recommended for a lightweight frame, but I figured John Howard knew what he was doing, and it would be a good test for the frame. The bike had the skinny 22 mm. wide tubular tires of that era.

My point is you could ride most road bikes on dirt or gravel roads that are reasonably level surfaced. The bikes being touted as “Gravel” bikes, as I see it are simply bikes more suited for leisure riding. Bikes that I might have built myself back in the 1980s, had there been a call for such a design at the time.

However, one man alone cannot start a trend, it takes many all agreeing and saying the same thing, at the same time, which is what is happening now.

But is road biking dead? No, and it never will be. Riding on a dirt road into the unknown maybe fun and adventurous, but eventually one will tire of the bumpety bump of the rough surface, and long to be back on smooth asphalt.

There is no substitute for the feeling when you stomp on the pedals, and the bike immediately responds, and rockets forward. The speed, the wind in your face, and the sound of the tires ringing in your ears. Even the dull ache in your legs, somehow feels good.

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Why Columbus Tubing?

I was recently asked, why did I build my US built frames in Columbus, instead of Reynolds, and why did I choose certain lugs, fork crowns and other component parts of the frame?

My main competition in America was the Italian import frames. Names like Colnago, Pinarello, Guerciotti, and Pogliaghi. All built in factories in Italy and shipped to the US by sea in containers, each filled with hundreds of frames. These would then go to a distributors warehouse.

The distributor having bought these frames in bulk at a wholesale price, then sold them to individual bicycle stores at a markup. One of these containers from Italy would hold more frames than my whole years production.

However, even though my production was smaller, I could compete pricewise with these imports. I did not have the shipping costs from Italy, and as I could sell direct to American bicycle dealers, I did not need a distributor, so therefore illuminated this middle-man cost.

I chose to use Columbus tubing because that is what the Italian frames were build with, so even though I never saw a difference in quality or price between Columbus or Reynolds, My customers did not have to decide between apples or oranges. I was competing on a level playing field. What probably tipped the scales was, the fact that Columbus spent more on advertising in the US and was better known.

When a person starts out as an individual frame builder, or any small business for that matter, one can become trapped financially, and while one can make a living it is difficult to grow the business without a larger capital investment.

For example, you get orders for a few frames, you buy a few sets of tubing and lugs, etc. You build those frames and have enough money from the sale to buy a few more sets of tubing and build a few more frames and so on.

In 1982 I was in San Marcos, California, working for Masi, when a downturn in the economy, and an over stock of Masi frames, meant that I was laid off, and out of work. However, I had been building a few of my own custom frames in my spare time and had a few bicycle dealers established. By calling other bike stores I was able to build a small dealer network.

Masi were only too pleased to let me pay rent to continue building my own frames, it helped them and helped me because I had use of the facility, including, paint booth and all the jigs and other tooling without my having to make the initial capital outlay.

Fate had handed me an opportunity and I took advantage of it. The demand for high quality custom frames was there, and I began working 100 hours a week, sometimes 18-hour days, 6 days a week to fill those orders as quickly as I could. By the following year I had saved enough money and with the help of a bank loan, I was able to open my own frame building facility.

In 1983 I built 200 ‘John Howard’ frames, plus 96 custom frames, with the help of just two employees. My initial capital outlay enabled me to buy 1,000 sets of tubing direct from Columbus in Italy. The Italian government had incentive programs to encourage exports, and this enabled Columbus to extend me credit.

When you buy 1,000 sets of tubing direct, there is a tremendous price difference over buying just a few sets from a distributor. My dealings with Columbus lead to a similar deal with the other Italian giant. Cinelli, and I bough fork crowns, lugs, and bottom bracket shells.

When buying tubing direct like this, I was able to specify the gauge of the tubes. For example, all the Fuso frames had heavier gauge SP chainstays. This made a stiffer rear triangle making a more responsive frame, but as the chainstay is a horizontal tube, the extra stiffness did not affect the ride quality.

Choice of materials and component parts of the frame was always made by considering quality, price, and availability, along with keeping an eye on what market trends were. At the height of production in the mid-1980s I produced as many as 500 frames a year with six employees.

The business was successful because I kept a large stock of every size frame, unpainted, so I could paint to order and delver in a week. 18 sizes, 49 cm. to 64 cm. I only sold though bike dealers, one cannot build as many frames as I did, and deal with individual customers. Of course, that eventually backfired on me when dealers stopped selling road bikes and switched completely to mountain bikes.

My US business ran for eleven years from 1982 to 1993, I have been out of the business for 27 years and it never ceases to amaze me that many of the frames I built are still owned by their original owners, and others are still being ridden, bought and sold, talked about, and otherwise enjoyed.

Looking back, it was a lot of work, but the continued interest makes it all worthwhile.

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Bicycle Terminology

I read a comment on a news article where someone described themselves as an “Avid Cycler.”

I’m sorry, if you call yourself a “Cycler” you are not an avid bike rider, which I think is what you were trying to say. The term is “Avid Cyclist.”

You could be an Avid Recycler if you collect old newspapers, and plastic bottles, but that’s a whole different story.

George Bernard Shaw once described England and The United States as, "Two countries separated by a common language." As well as using different words for the same object, people tend to make stuff up if they don't know the correct term. I read an ad on Craig’s List where a person selling a bicycle described it as having:

“Covers over the wheels, so you won’t get your clothes wet when riding in the rain.”

They are called “Mudguards.” In America most call them “Fenders,” which is also acceptable. At least we know what you are talking about. In this case I never would have known had there not been a photograph of said bike, sporting mudguards.

When I first came to the US in 1979, there was a whole different vocabulary for bicycle parts that drove me crazy.

People called a handlebar stem (Left.) a “Gooseneck.” If I ever saw a goose with a neck shaped like that, it was one sick bird.

A spanner was called a wrench, now some call it a spanner wrench. One of those words is obsolete, and back in the day, Americans would insist on calling a saddle, a “Seat.”

The fact that a saddle was attached to a seat post, or seat pillar in the UK, which in turn slid into a seat tube on the frame, was neither here nor there. I wasn’t around for that planning meeting.

Before we had freewheel cassettes, the old screw-on five and six speed freewheels were called a freewheel “Block.” Back in 1979 in the US they called them a “Cluster.” Talking of Freewheels, the opposite is a Fixed-wheel, not a Fixed-gear, and never Fixie, unless you’re a newbie avid cycler.

Some terms have never changed, Campagnolo was always abbreviated to “Campag” in the UK, in the US it is “Campy.” (In the UK Campy could be mistaken for a certain way of walking.) I never abbreviate the name, that way I am correct on both sides of the pond.

Tubular tires, (Or is it Tyres?) in the UK were “Sprints and Tubs.” Sprints referring to the sprint rims, and tubs being short for tubulars. In the US they are “Sewups,” which no longer drives me crazy, although it does make me a tiny bit uncomfortable.

Then the “Hipster” crowd started calling them “Tubies,” which like Fixies is kind of ‘cute,’ but what does drive me stark raving bonkers, was the hipster element referring to toe-clips as “Cages.”

They have always been “Toe-clips,” on both sides of the Atlantic. It was the one word for a bicycle part that didn’t get bastardized in translation.

They have been abandoned by most branches on the sport for clip-less pedals. (There is a clue, right there.) Anyone who calls them cages should be locked up in one.

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